Coupling of nuclear morphometry to cell geometry and growth in human fibroblasts

The nuclear morphology of WI-38 cells plated on increasing thicknesses of the polymer, poly-2-hydroxyethylmethacrylate, was studied. Changes in nuclear morphometry were found to parallel changes in cellular morphometry: namely a transition to a more rounded and compact conformation, with increasing thicknesses of the polymer. Such changes in nuclear morphometry were opposite to those already observed after stimulation of proliferation by serum addition and similar to those observed with increasing confluency. These results suggest that coupling between cell and nuclear geometry may represent a mechanism for the control of proliferation by cell shape in nontransformed cells.